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VOLUME:115 No.96, APRIL 11TH, 2018

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

IT’S FOLLOW THE LEADER – OR ELSE

JOANNA’S MEDAL HEARTBREAK

ALICIA WALLACE - SEE PAGE EIGHT

GOLD COAST GAMES – SPORT

Subpar shanty houses demolished after census Foulkes promises Sunday’s survey will be ‘sensitive’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net ANY structure within shanty towns across the country that does not adhere to building codes will be “demolished”, Labour Minister Dion Foulkes said yesterday as he announced a new date for the start of the government’s census of residents living in these illegal residential areas.

The national survey of shanty town residents, which has been several times delayed, will now

begin this Sunday from 2pm to 5pm.

Mr Foulkes, who is chairman of the government-appointed shanty town committee, did not say when demolition is expected to begin. However the minister told The Tribune in March that officials would use the summer months so as not to disrupt the academic year of children who are enrolled in school. This, he said, was in a bid to treat the issue with sensitivity.

The government wants to ascertain, through a 13 SEE PAGE FIVE

TECH HUB DREAM ‘WILL TAKE YEARS’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

DEFICIENCIES ranging from energy costs to ‘business ease’ and data protection must be remedied if a Cabinet Minister is to achieve his dream of attracting 500 ‘high tech’ firms to the Bahamas.

The Grand Bahama Technology Hub Steering Committee, in a confidential report to the Government, identified 19 different areas requiring

TWO GUN DEATHS: ARE THEY LINKED?

improvement if the Minnis administration is to truly realise its vision for the island.

The lengthy ‘to do’ list was effectively acknowledged by Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for Grand Bahama, when he told the Senate in his contribution to the mid-year Budget debate that he was “under no illusion” about the scale of the reforms required from the Government and the private sector.

SEE BUSINESS SECTION

POLICE remove the body of a man who was shot and killed off Moore Avenue early on Tuesday morning. This came hours after another shooting death at nearby Homestead Street. Police are investigating whether the killings could be linked. See page three.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune staff

DORSETT EXTORTION FOREIGN NUMBERS CHARGES DROPPED AT POINTE? NO IDEA

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE Crown has decided to drop the four counts of extortion and one count of misconduct in public office against former Environment and Housing Minister Kenred Dorsett, The Tribune can confirm.

Attorneys for Dorsett

indicated to The Tribune yesterday that the Crown has decided to dispose of counts one to four of the indictment concerning the extortion charges, as well as the ninth that concerns misconduct.

Alex Morley, an attorney in Wayne Munroe’s law firm, told The Tribune SEE PAGE THREE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

LABOUR Minister Dion Foulkes said yesterday his department does not have any evidence China Construction America (CCA) has broken the agreed workforce ratio outlined in the Heads of Agreement with the

government for The Pointe development in downtown Nassau.

But as Mr Foulkes said there had been no complaints Minister of Financial Services and Immigration Brent Symonette conceded the government currently had no idea how many foreign workers are currently SEE PAGE SEVEN

MISSING FILE ‘WON’T DELAY OBAN PROJECT’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net HOME INSURANCE

AUTO INSURANCE

LIFE INSURANCE

MARINE INSURANCE

THE progress of the $5.5 billion Oban Energies project has not been halted by the disappearance of a file from the Bahamas Environment Science Technology Commission, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold said yesterday.

He could not say for certain, however, if the environmental impact

A PICTURE of a refinery from the Oban Energies website. assessment for the pro- Minnis administration ject will be affected by figure told The Tribune this the file’s disappearance, is unlikely. The status of though at least one other the EIA is unclear and has

Covering The Bahamas for over 40 years.

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been scrutinised in recent weeks.

Mr Newbold refused to explain the significance of the missing file and would not say if it contained proprietary information or trade secrets.

He sidestepped a question about whether the government is concerned that the contents of the file will be leaked to the public, saying officials are simply SEE PAGE SIX

PAGE 2, Wednesday, April 11, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

FIFTY SHADES OF SUCCESS THE OWN Bahamas Foundation last night hosted ‘Fifty Shades of Success’ – its first ‘Own Talks’ event at the Atlantis Ballroom. Among the speakers were Island Luck CEO Sebas Bastian (right) and motivational speaker Les Brown (below).

PHOTOS: Shawn Hanna/Tribune staff

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis is pictured with Island Luck CEO Sebas Bastian.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 11, 2018, PAGE 3

US EMBASSY ISSUES ALERT AFTER CABLE BEACH ARMED ROBBERY

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE American Embassy in Nassau yesterday issued a security alert advising its citizens of an armed robbery at a Cable Beach restaurant on Sunday.

The embassy warned American citizens to be aware of their surroundings, and review personal security plans.

The alert read: “According to local media reports, an armed robbery occurred on Sunday, April 8, at a restaurant in the Cable Beach area near the intersection of West Bay Street and Atlantic Drive.

“The suspect brandished a firearm at employees then fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. No injuries were reported.

“As of today there are no suspects in custody but police are actively investigating.”

Police on Sunday reported two separate armed robberies: one at a web shop on Baillou Hill and St Vincent Roads, and the other at a fast food restaurant on West Bay Street.

According to police, the West Bay Street incident took place around 1pm. The gunman entered the fast food restaurant, held up the employees and robbed the eatery of cash before fleeing on foot.

Investigations are ongoing, according to police.

This is the third security alert issued this year.

The first came in February after an American woman was attacked during an evening jog on West Bay Street, and the second in March warned visiting Americans on spring break to again “avoid Jet Ski operators” and be careful in dealing with scooter rental companies.

The US State department updated its travel advisory for the country in January, telling its citizens to also stay clear of popular cultural restaurant hub the Fish Fry at Arawak Cay at night.

The Bahamas is ranked at ‘Level 2: Exercise increase caution,’ by the State Department which stated violent crime, such as burglaries, armed robberies and sexual assault are common, even during daylight hours and in tourist areas.

POLICE INVESTIGATE WHETHER LATEST MURDERS WERE LINKED

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net

POLICE are investigating whether two murders that occurred less than 12 hours apart in the same area of New Providence are connected.

Early yesterday morning a man was shot and killed off Moore Avenue. Hours earlier, around 8pm Monday, police said a man died in hospital after he was shot at nearby Homestead Street.

The killings pushed the murder count to 26 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records.

Superintendent Shanta Knowles, police press liaison officer, said yesterday: “Shortly before 5am this morning (Tuesday), we received reports of gunshots heard in the area of…

Moore Avenue, just off Palm Beach Street North.

“Upon the arrival of officers, we discovered a male lying in a

SUPERINTENDENT Shanta Knowles speaks to the media after the shooting off Moore Avenue. Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune staff building with injuries to the body. deceased as George Mortimer, Paramedics came to the scene, 29, of Moore Avenue. they attempted to revive the In relation to the first murder, male however they were unsuc- police said it occurred in the cessful as he had succumbed to same area. his injuries here at the scene.”

“Around 8.30pm (Monday) Police have identified the night, within this same vicinity

(off Moore Avenue), a man was at the junction of Homestead Avenue and Homestead Street when a black Honda Fit pulled up,” Supt Knowles said.

“We were told that two men armed with firearms came from that vehicle, opened fire on the man, hitting him.

“Both persons got back into the vehicle, which sped off.

“The victim, who was injured, was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital and later succumbed to his injuries there.”

The man who was killed Monday night has been identified by police as Kenneth Kemp, 21, of Homestead Street.

Supt Knowles added that police are investigating whether the matters are connected.

Officers have also increased patrols in the area since Monday night’s incident.

Anyone with information on these or any other crimes are asked to call police at 919 or Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS.

YOUNG BANKER DORSETT EXTORTION CHARGES DROPPED FOUND DEAD IN HER HOME FROM PAGE ONE

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net A YOUNG banker was found dead in her residence Monday morning. According to social media reports, the woman’s name was Raquel Farquharson.

The police are treating this case as a “sudden death,” Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash told The Tribune yesterday. The cause of death will be determined after an autopsy has taken place.

Farquharson was reportedly a bank employee who left work early on Friday.

She was found dead in her home days later.

prosecution in former PLP Labour Minister the Crown intends to Shane Gibson’s trial devote a “singular and simindicated it will take a plified focus” on the four similar course of action bribery charges against and only pursue the him, outlined in counts five bribery charges against through eight in the indictthe former Cabinet ment. Terry Archer is the minister.

Crown prosecutor with Director of Public carriage of the matter.

Prosecutions Garvin However, Mr Munroe, Gaskin also indicated QC, told The Tribune the at the time that the Crown to date has not yet Office of the Attorney specified exactly when the KENRED Dorsett General has engaged offences it alleges Dora Queen’s counsel in sett committed actually occurred. And that lack of specifi- order to “continue the objective cation, Mr Munroe has previously prosecution of this matter.”

“It was determined by the stated, adversely affects his client’s ability to produce an effective Office of the Attorney General, in conjunction with Queen’s counsel notice of alibi.

The matter is adjourned to and my advice, that to continue April 25 for a status hearing. proceedings with the 18 bribery Supreme Court Justice Carolita counts (inclusive of the associated conspiracies) alone, provides Bethel is the presiding judge.

The decision by the Crown a simplified and singular focus on comes just weeks after the this statutory offence,” Mr Gaskin

said in an earlier statement concerning Gibson.

Dorsett is charged over allegations he used his former ministerial position to solicit $120,000 in bribes from Johnathan Ash between March 1 and May 9, 2017.

The allegations concern the purported exchange of funds in connection with work done by a heavy equipment operator to move debris from the New Providence Landfill following a massive fire at the site in March 2017.

Last year however, Mr Munroe argued that according to the prosecution, the alleged acts occurred between March 1 and May 9, or a total of 70 days, but the details provided were not specific to date, time, or location.

He further pointed out at the time the charges only indicated the alleged acts occurred on the island of New Providence.

MAGISTRATE ‘DID NOT FORM CONCLUSIVE VIEW OF EVIDENCE’ IN BPL THEFT CASE

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A MAGISTRATE yesterday declared he had no cause or opportunity to form a particular view of the evidence against five men charged in connection with a multi-million-dollar theft at Bahamas Power & Light while previously serving as a Crown prosecutor.

Magistrate Ambrose Armbrister told counsel for Reno Bethel, Che Campbell Chase, Orvano Symonette, Anthony Strachan and James Dean that while he did have some involvement with the matter during his time in the Attorney General’s Office, he did not form a conclusive view of the evidence.

And in any event, the charges laid against the five accused men were “particularised” after he would have left the Office of the Attorney General, Magistrate Armbrister said.

The declaration came following two separate hearings before Magistrate Armbrister and Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt over the Crown’s concerns with Magistrate Armbrister presiding over the matter.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain previously recused herself from presiding over the matter due to one of the accused, Campbell, being known to her, according to the chief magistrate.

Kenrah Newry, lead Crown prosecutor in the matter, had previously told the chief magistrate that as Magistrate Armbrister was recently called up from the AG’s Office to the bench, he may have had some contact with the case file in some way, and possibly varying degrees, during his time as a prosecutor.

Ms Newry clarified the Crown’s stance yesterday, stating that it only raised those concerns as a matter of awareness as opposed to an outright bid for Magistrate Armbrister’s recusal from the matter.

Roberto Reckley, holding brief for Tai Pinder-Mackey

Declaration after two separate hearings who represents Strachan and Campbell, also indicated previously that there would be an issue with Mrs PinderMackey appearing before Magistrate Armbrister.

During an earlier hearing, the chief magistrate said she spoke with Magistrate Armbrister personally about the Crown’s concerns, who told her that there was no reason in his mind why he could not preside over the matter.

The chief magistrate said Magistrate Armbrister told her that based on his recollection, he had no intimate dealings or direct carriage of the matter.

Submissions Concerning Mr Reckley’s submissions regarding Mrs Pinder-Mackey, the chief magistrate said it would be a “travesty of justice” if she were to accede to his submissions, because it would mean that every future matter set to be heard in his court cannot be adjudicated.

The chief magistrate further suggested that it could not be fair to say that Magistrate Armbrister would take whatever is the genesis of Mrs Pinder-Mackey’s wariness of appearing before him, and transfer it onto her present client.

The chief magistrate further stated that if Mrs Pinder-Mackey feels her clients would not be properly and/or best served by herself whilst appearing before Magistrate Armbrister, she has the option of allowing someone else in her chambers to take carriage of the matter.

Chief Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt therefore said the matter ought to be transferred to Magistrate Armbrister, who she initially suggested as the ideal magistrate to adjudicate the matter due to his academic background in accounting, and his court historically dealing with financial cases.

Once transferred, Magistrate Armbrister indicated

to Bethel’s attorney Wayne Munroe, QC, that while he was at the AG’s Office, he had an opportunity to examine the allegations against his client.

As a result, Magistrate Armbrister said he applied for production and restraint orders connected to the matter. Magistrate Armbrister said he subsequently went on vacation for a “very long time,” and upon his return he was essentially just clearing his desk and making the transition to being a magistrate.

Magistrate Armbrister stressed he did not recommend anything in relation to the matter, nor did he play a role in any recommendations being made.

In response, Mr Munroe stated that he was not of the view that the aforementioned calls for his automatic recusal.

Rather, Mr Munroe stated it depends substantially on what Magistrate Armbrister did concerning the matter while he was a prosecutor.

Mr Munroe thus said it’s not a matter that requires his automatic recusal or disqualification from adjudicating on the matter, but it is a matter for him to address his mind to regarding whether he came to a conclusion about the innocence or guilt of one (or more) of the accused.

Mr Munroe, after a brief

discussion with Bethel, also indicated that Bethel has no objection with him adjudicating the case.

Ms Newry then clarified the Crown’s position on the matter, stressing that it just didn’t want there to be an appearance of bias on any end, or for the accused to suffer any unnecessary disadvantage as a result of what information Magistrate Armbrister might have seen.

After a few more minutes of legal discussion, Magistrate Armbrister adjourned the matter to June 20, 21, and 22 for trial.

Employee In August last year, Bethel, a former employee of FirstCaribbean International Bank, was arraigned on 47 fraud-related charges stemming from a BPL investigation. He faced 23 counts of fraud by false pretences, 23 counts of receiving and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretences. Approximately two months later, Bethel was arraigned for nearly 100 additional fraud-related charges.

It is alleged that between February 27 and May 5, 2017, Bethel obtained a total of $1,062,330.05 from BPL’s bank account held at Scotiabank while at Royal Bank

of Canada on John F Kennedy Drive. It is also alleged that on May 4, 2017, Bethel attempted to defraud BPL of a total of $109,147.80 from its Scotiabank account while at FCIB on JFK Drive.

It is further alleged that between March 30 and April 7, 2017, Bethel converted $200,000 of Bahamian currency to US currency, and transferred it to an account in the Imperial Bank of Canada.

He also allegedly converted $6,500 of Bahamian currency to Canadian currency and transferred it to an account held at TD Canada Trust in Ontario.

It is further alleged that between February 8 and April 20, 2017, Bethel uttered numerous forged Scotiabank cheques totalling $1,496,005.09 from the Bahamas Electricity Corporation’s account and made them payable to various entities including Bahamas Crane and Concrete Pumps, KS Civil Engineers, HRT Rentals, Bahamas Industrial Equip Sales and Re, Bahamas Heavy Machinery and Trucking, the Bobcat Specialist, Enviro Tank, and Scuderia Electrical via either RBC or FCIB. It is also alleged that Bethel was in possession of multiple forged Scotiabank cheques totaling $1,496,005.09, drawn from BEC’s account and made payable to the above entities.

Bethel pleaded not guilty

to all of the charges.

Shortly after that, Dean, a former BPL employee, and Chase, an attorney, were arraigned over allegations they collectively defrauded the electricity provider of close to $2m over a fourmonth span last year.

Strachan was charged with seven counts of fraud by false pretences and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretences. It is alleged he defrauded BPL of $214,086.25.

Charged Symonette was charged with defrauding the company of $317,652.50. It is also alleged he attempted to fraudulently obtain $109,147.40 from FCIB on May 4, 2017.

Symonette also faced four counts of possession of forged cheques drawn on BEC’s bank account and made payable to Bahamas Industrial Equip Sales and Re, BN Backhoe Trucking and Island Site Development and presenting those forged cheques.

Asides from Mr Munroe, who is assisted by Tommell Roker, and Mrs Pinder-Mackey, Alex Morley and Keith Seymour are the other defence attorneys on record, representing Symonette and Dean, respectively.

Al-Leecia Delancey and Cordell Frazier are the other

PAGE 4, Wednesday, April 11, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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If you’re testing the water Prime Minister, jump straight in If Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest and Attorney General Sen. Carl Bethel are testing the waters by suggesting an escape route out of the Oban deal Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis should jump in with both feet and get on with it before the plan that has sparked national outcry drowns an administration already struggling to stay afloat.

The first hint that government may be scrambling for a route out of a deal with Oban Energies to build a $5.5 billion crude oil refinery, storage and distribution facility in East Grand Bahama came when the DPM Turnquest said a few days ago that government could escape if it wanted to. That was the first time any highly placed official said an exit route was possible. Prior to that, every indication was no matter what the environmental impact assessment was or any other component of the deal the government was stuck with it. Committed.

Locked in. Suddenly, there was a key to unlock? Was it the tentative first step of an exit strategy? That Turnquest - who represents the High Rock constituency of Grand Bahama and was pushing so hard for the deal - was the first crack in the armour was a clue the tide may be turning. If this is the start of an exit plan it could not have been easy for Mr Turnquest to be the first to raise the possibility Oban may never happen and, if so, we congratulate him for finding the strength to do the right thing even if he had to swallow a world of pride.

The second that government was beginning to waffle and change its position was not too long in coming. On Monday Carl Bethel announced in the Senate “It is the inalienable right of the government of The Bahamas to terminate” the Oban agreement under Clause 5 (1). Bethel is also Attorney General and if anyone in government knows what the rights of government are, it is Carl Bethel.

Within hours of the Attorney General’s pronouncement Bahamas National Trust Executive Director Eric Carey was welcoming the news, as if pulling the plug on the deal were already a fait accompli.

Celebration may be a bit premature.

But if there is any further encouragement needed for the government to quash a deal that has, quite frankly, smelled from the day it was ‘ceremoniously’ signed February 18, we urge the administration to get out now.

We can only think of only a few other issues in the history of The Bahamas that aroused more public protest than the Oban deal.

In each of those, the government listened to the public outcry and responded appropriately.

One was to build a high-density community adjacent to Lyford Cay on historic property. Record crowds turned out for town hall meetings.

The first Christie administration found the funds and purchased the Oakes property, preserving it for what is now Clifton Heritage Park.

The second time a government backed down in the face of public protest was in the consideration of longline fishing. A cabinet minister, so sure it would pass, counselled fishermen to equip their vessels to prepare. Suddenly, boats from the Far East were being imported into The Bahamas. The proposed policy was soundly defeated as was another to run at an LPG line.

The history of governments responding in the face of resistance is strong and we urge them to show the same backbone now. Go the whole way and say no to Oban.

If it is easier to negotiate a withdrawal of the proposal by Oban saying it does not want to go through with it, or the climate is not right at this time, let them bow out as graciously as possible.

The deal has been issue-infested from Day One. Not only was the initial face of Oban, Peter Krieger, linked to past legal and criminal misdeeds as pointed out first by this newspaper, but he forged the name of the company president Satpal Dhunna at the now infamous sham Heads of Agreement signing.

Once the legal issues were exposed, the website came down. Krieger, originally introduced as chairman, was then presented as non-executive chairman

and that title quickly changed again to ‘goodwill ambassador’ before he was seemingly banished altogether. The website came down.

Questions about the company were compounded by concerns about the financial capability of Oban Energies and the viability of the business plan itself.

Five and a half billion dollars is enough money to buy the LA Lakers five times or four NBA teams with change left over.

It is so much money that if stacked in one dollar bills, it would measure more than 350 miles high. One of the stipulations for project approval is demonstration of ability to complete what is proposed. To date, we have heard that the company, with the HOA in hand, has raised $10 million, a far cry from $5.5 billion.

Along with the shady background of at least one and perhaps more of the original cast of characters, and concern with financial capability, the deal smacked of a breach of everything the government promised with regard to transparency and public consultation.

Protests have raged. Environmentalists, medical professionals, civil society organisations, individuals, residents, respected business columnists and other media railed against a crude oil refinery, questioning why a country with a fragile marine and land environment like The Bahamas would consider building such a facility while countries around the world are moving away from dirty fossil fuels and developing renewable energy. Not a single crude oil refinery has been built along the east coast of the U.S. since 1977, protestors pointed out. Yet, here was The Bahamas, again in the geographical crosshairs between where the crude would come from and where it would go was going, sitting like a stooge without a voice desperate for jobs and apparently willing to sacrifice its most precious natural resource and the health of its people at the altar of a false economy.

Doctors warned of the dangers. Environmentalists decried the fact the deal was signed without an environmental impact assessment or environmental management plan despite the obvious potential impact of a crude oil refinery.

The Bahamas National Trust pointed out it was within toxic fume range of three national parks, including the most frequently visited in the country, Lucayan National Park.

Civil society organisations expressed shock that the deal went as far as it did without any public consultation.

Organisation for Responsible Governance, O.R.G., acting on behalf of more than 20 business, civic and civil society groups representing thousands of persons, issued one of the strongest statements it has ever disseminated criticizing the apparent lack of transparency, lack of involvement of civil society and lack of broad consultation prior to the signing of the Heads of Agreement (HOA).

Many questioned why so much land was being given away with nothing in it for Bahamians.

With everything about the deal going south, the Prime Minister found himself in the awkward position of having to confess there had been a few “missteps” along the way.

Funding, reputation, potential environmental impact and health hazards all remained questions begging answers as the outcry against the project gained momentum and one petition garnered nearly 1,400 signatures in about 48 hours.

Yet, government seemed committed to the deal – that is, until a few days ago.

Suddenly, it is as if all the voices of protest and reason may have finally found their mark.

This is not the first time a government of The Bahamas has put out feelers to assess public reaction to a dramatic change of position that it had ferociously defended before.

For those like this newspaper who have questioned the Oban deal from the start, we urge you to speak up.

It will not be easy for the Prime Minister to say ‘We made a mistake,’ though we are sure whether it is he or someone else, whoever makes the announcement will find a smoother way to spin it.

Saying sorry is a very small price to pay for protecting an international reputation and more importantly, saving an island.

No longer an impartial observer

EDITOR. The Tribune.

AS A cultural commentator, playwright James Catalyn produced a summer madness series aptly named “Laughin’ at we sef”. This was the essence of satire and what tickled our funny bones the most were the parts of the narrative that were not fiction but were actually culled from the news headlines of the day.

Political satire has woven its way into our national discourse and, when mastered, it is a powerful way for us to mock the high, mighty and powerful. Because we have been endowed with a right to freedom of speech we expect our political cartoonists to inch their big toe as close to the line as possible even as they hold our politicians’ feet to the fire.

Humour gets us laughing and eventually thinking.

Cartoonists highlight the faults in our society and use humour to exaggerate them. If we don’t laugh we would cry.

Stan Burnside comes from a distinguished family of artists. Their skills run the gamut from capturing the Bahamian spirit on canvas or in the junkanoo shack, to delighting the palate in the bakery, to a daily dose of reminding us of the absurdities of life in the newspaper.

By cleverly turning his name back-to-front Stan created Sideburns and for a time he burned politicians of every party. Sadly though, during the last PLP administration Sideburns was taken ill with a bad case of creative osteoporosis which apparently rendered his expressive spine inactive.

Miraculously it all started to heal on May 10

to the wind and was most frequently absent or speechless during the PLP years in power. letters@tribunemedia.net It is curious that Sidelast year and seems to be burns seems incapable of on the mend today, albeit acknowledging some of with a biased limp against the government’s accomplishments and plans in the governing FNM. Sideburns let Perry the works, a number of Christie and his govern- which have been noted ment get a free pass on in the editorials of his many transgressions. We newspaper.

Perhaps he is the genuhave no way of knowing, of course, if this was the ine Mr. Magoo, patterned result of studied intent or after the cartoon characjust selective amnesia or ter, who has an “extreme near-sightedness, comsomething else.

Perry Christie provided pounded by his stubborn so much grist for the car- refusal to admit [his] toonist mill that Sideburns problem.

Sideburns found a megcould have published a compendium of the aphone as soon as the PLP lost last year and he conEmperor’s greatest hits.

It alone could have tinues to execrate Prime triggered a course at Minister Hubert Minnis the journalism school while attempting to whiteof the University of the wash the soiled legacy of Perry Christie.

Bahamas.

Ultimately this is not Indeed, such a course would cover everything good for his newspafrom Potcake (the moni- per nor for our political ker for the works of the discourse. Sideburns is master political cartoon- no longer an impartial ist Eddie Minnis, now observer and commentaretired) all the way to the tor on the political scene. likes of Sideburns and He has crossed over to political activism.

Jamaal Rolle.

We must now apply But Sideburns has now qualitative and quangone off the deep-end and seems to be comfortable titative weight to his in the territory known in political assessment and the newspaper business to his interpretation of as advocacy cartoons. national events while Clearly Sideburns misin- accepting that his personal terprets the meaning of politics is none of our swinging a double edge business.

This is not a call for sword in his work.

Typically, advocacy car- Sideburns to pull back tooning means that if you on the reigns of satire or lash the FNM when they to ease up on the governabuse the public trust then ment. On the contrary, his you must drop licks on the comic commentary loses PLP when they act the its sting when weighed against his veneration of same way.

But his style is to glorify Christie and the PLP. We want to laugh with one side while treating the other side with contempt. Sideburns, not at him.

Even as the editorials of his own newspaper tried THE GRADUATE to be fair and balanced, Nassau, Sideburns threw caution April 10, 2018.

LETTERS

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 11, 2018, PAGE 5

Subpar shanty houses demolished after census ABOVE AND BELOW: Photos of the Mud and Pigeon Peas communities in Abaco, taken by The Tribune in December last year.

FROM PAGE ONE question survey, how many residents are in each shanty town, the age groups, whether the children are in school and whether there are any people living there with disabilities among other things.

He spoke on the issue before going into a Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.

Mr Foulkes said: “The most important thing in the exercise that we are doing is that we want to be sensitive and humane to all of the residents throughout the shanty towns in the country.

“Abaco, as you know The Mud and the Pigeon Peas and the Sand Banks and the Farm Lands at Treasure Cay, is probably the largest area outside of New Providence.

“They are well-developed towns and they have everything - running water, they’ve got electricity (and) they even have some gaming houses present.

“The prime minister has given myself and also (North Abaco MP Darren) Henfield and other Cabinet ministers the mandate to have them all regulated.

At the end of the day that means that any home that is not built to the Ministry of Works code will be demolished,” he also said.

Mr Foulkes added the government has sought the opinions of Haitian community leaders to ensure the survey meets its mandate.

RIGHTS BAHAMAS ‘WOULD CHALLENGE PROPOSED IMMIGRATION ACT CHANGES’

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

detention powers of the Department of Immigration and “make it clear” the minister of immigration has the right to order the deportaNEWLY appointed Rights tion of “illegal aliens” without first Bahamas President Stephanie obtaining a court order.

St Fleur yesterday vowed the Mr Bethel told the Senate organisation would immediately his office was also working on a bring legal challenge to proposed supplementary bill to the Immichanges to the Immigration Act gration Act called The Unlawful clearing the path for mass deporMaritime Entry Bill; which would tations without court orders. allow immigration officers to exeMs St Fleur questioned whether cute mass deportations without a the amendments and supplemandatory court order for apprementary legislation outlined by STEPHANIE St Fleur hensions at sea.

Attorney General Carl Bethel in In a statement yesterday, Ms the Senate on Monday was a pubSt Fleur accused Mr Bethel of licity stunt.

“Mr Bethel must realise that what he following the “playbook” of former Immiproposes violates certain fundamental gration Minister Fred Mitchell.

She warned Mr Bethel and the Free rights and privileges enshrined in the BahaNational Movement administration to take mas Constitution,” she said, “namely the right to due process, the right to a fair trial, heed of the consequences wrought by the freedom from arbitrary detention, and electorate concerning Mr Mitchell and his the right to be considered innocent until defence of “dictatorial policies”.

The proposed changes will also have proven guilty.

“The Constitution is the supreme law of deleterious impact on the country’s bid the land. This means no one has the right to to secure a seat on the United Nations’ declare that an individual has violated the Human Rights Council, she claimed.

“International human rights groups and Immigration Act except a court of law.

“Perhaps this is nothing more than a organisations such as the UN and the OAS public relations stunt on the part of a gov- will be appalled to learn of what Mr Bethel ernment that is seemingly so anxious about and his colleagues purportedly intend and boosting its popularity that it will pander to will make their voices heard around the the most intolerant and discriminatory seg- world,” she said.

“The FNM should take heed of this ments of society.

“Surely Mr Bethel realises that Rights example and realise that they were elected Bahamas will aggressively fight this in the by a wave of progressive and enlightened courts, applying for an immediate injunc- opinion that is fast becoming disillusioned.

“They should act accordingly by shedding tion, judicial review and constitutional challenge to any such proposed changes to their defence of repressive, undemocratic and discriminatory ideas and finding soluthe law.”

In the Senate Mr Bethel revealed the tions that recognise everyone’s basic government’s intention to strengthen the humanity and equality under the law.”

“We have met with the Haitian Bahamian Association. We have met with the Haitian Pastors League, some 16 of them. We have met with Rights Bahamas, which is Joe Darville and Fred Smith (QC).

“We have met with the Anglican church, the Catholic church, the Seventh-Day Adventist church.

“We have met with many, many different groups to consult. The majority of Haitian Bahamians and Haitian nationals attend three churches.

Survey “On Thursday we are going to have the second meeting with about 20 Haitian pastors to seek their assistance in conducting this survey on Sunday. They have already pledged their support and we are hopeful that some of them will actually go with the survey teams to make the process as simple as possible.”

Mr Foulkes said there is no cost attached to the exercise as everyone involved are active government employees and currently there is a team working in Abaco mulling over housing alternatives for residents.

“The government has the will and the prime minister has the political will to regulate all unregulated communities,” he added.

For his part, Mr Henfield said many of those living in shanty towns want them to be improved and begin

transition to the Bahamian way of living.

He said: “We as government have a holistic approach as to how we deal with these unregulated communities and we are determined to remove them from the landscape of the Bahamas.

“But we’ll do so in a humane fashion and I think Bahamians need to appreciate that these things didn’t develop overnight and so it won’t be solved overnight, but through shared determination and will we will address this problem in our country.

“Most Haitian Bahamians that I speak to, or individuals of Haitian origin around that I speak to, do not want these communities. They do not wish to see these communities existing in the Bahamas.

“They would like to come and live in regular communities like regular Bahamians.

However it must be emphasised that not only Haitians live in these communities, there are also some Bahamians that live in these communities who have names that are historical to our country.”

There are 11 shanty towns in New Providence – eight of which are in the southwest part of the island and the remaining three in the eastern district.

Four others are in Grand Bahama along with several shanty towns in North Eleuthera, North Andros and Abaco.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, April 11, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

GOVT WILL HAVE UNTIL DECEMBER TO MAKE CHANGES IF REMOVED FROM EU ‘BLACKLIST’

“The government has made representations to the EU about the pathway forward between now and December 2018, which will result in certain consultations and potential amendments, certain reporting requirements and other issues with regard to the financial services industry and we’re looking at that now.”

Brent Symonette

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

IF THE Bahamas is successful in being removed from the European Union’s ‘blacklist,’ the government will have until December to make changes in the financial services sector to steer clear of being yet again deemed a non-compliant jurisdiction, a senior Cabinet minister said yesterday.

“The government has made representations to the EU about the pathway forward between now and December 2018, which will result in certain consultations and potential amendments, certain reporting requirements and other issues with regard to the financial services industry and we’re looking at that now,” Immigration and Financial Services Minister Brent Symonette said yesterday ahead of a Cabinet meeting, when he was asked by The Tribune what the country needed to do moving forward.

The Bahamas could be removed from the blacklist as early as tomorrow, Finance Minister K Peter Turnquest told The Tribune on Monday.

The minister told Tribune Business the government was “following up” with EU officials on the 28-nation’s ‘Code of Conduct Group’ to determine whether the Bahamas removal will happen on April 12.

He revealed that the government at least hoped to “satisfy” the demands of the EU’s technocrats at Thursday’s meeting, an achievement that would mean the Bahamas’ delisting was a relative “formality” when the bloc’s finance ministers meet on May 25.

“That is our hope,” Mr Turnquest said on Monday of the April 12 meeting. “They (EU officials) had indicated when we were over there they would have a meeting on

the Friday following our meeting, and they were hoping to put our issue on the agenda.

“We did not make it, and the next available opportunity is April 12. We’re following up on that, and hoping to get some success there. If not, we’ll be moving on to the full EU council agenda on May 25.

“We’re hoping we’ll be dealt with on April 12. If not in full, at least the technical committee are satisfied, and we move on to the full ECOFIN (finance ministers) on May 25, which will then hopefully be a formality in terms of a review.”

Intentions The EU formally blacklisted the Bahamas on March 13, having leaked its intentions the previous week, for allegedly being non-cooperative in the fight against large-scale tax avoidance by multinational companies.

The 28-nation bloc complained that it did not receive the “high level political commitment” it had been seeking from the Bahamas to address its concerns, which largely related to “ring fencing” and the absence of “economic substance” requirements for corporate vehicles operating in this jurisdiction.

Mr Turnquest subsequently said letters he had personally signed committing the Bahamas to compliance with the EU’s anti-tax avoidance drive were “obviously not taken into account” in the ‘blacklisting’ decision.

He suggested that miscommunication, and related misunderstandings, had contributed to the Bahamas’ blacklisting, not least that its commitment letter to the EU was signed by a senior civil servant in the shape of acting financial secretary, Marlon Johnson, as opposed to a Cabinet minister.

MISSING FILE ‘WON’T DELAY OBAN PROJECT’

FROM PAGE ONE concerned the file has been stolen.

He expects duplicates of the file were created and are still in the possession of government officials.

Asked about the significance of the file, he said: “I’m not going to go into that. I’m going to let the police do what they’re doing and then we’ll talk about it after the police are done with their findings.”

Process Asked if the file contained proprietary information, he said: “It contains information about Oban and the deal; that’s important enough. How secret it should’ve been kept is part of the process and if it has something to do with Oban at some point it will be revealed.”

Anyone would be concerned that the file has gone missing, Mr Newbold said, noting the whereabouts of the file is the subject of a police investigation.

“You don’t want people stealing from you, whether it’s the government or in

“If a file is missing you send it to the police. Is that going to stop something, no I don’t think so.

(The government) didn’t send out a statement. It just sent (the information) on to the police. If it determined that this was something that would materially affect what was going on I’m sure a statement would have been sent out.”

Anthony Newbold your house,” he said. “The file is missing; that is something you would want to put unacceptable on that.”

Mr Newbold said the government did not err by failing to previously disclose to the public that the file went missing. The matter was revealed in a Nassau Guardian article on

DEU, DEFENCE FORCE OFFICERS DISCOVER $157K OF HASHISH OIL A JOINT Operation involving officers of the Abaco District Drug Enforcement Unit and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force resulted in the discovery of Hashish oil worth over $150,000.

According to reports, shortly before 3pm yesterday afternoon, officers acting on information while on patrol in the area of Armstrong Cay, discovered taped packages of Hashish oil (pictured).

The drugs have a street value of $157,000.

There were no arrests made and police are actively investigating this matter.

Tuesday, where it was said the file went missing from the BEST Commission and the incident had been reported to police more

than a week ago.

“There’s nothing about that that’s not transparent,” Mr Newbold said. “If a file is missing you send it to the

police. Is that going to stop something, no I don’t think so. (The government) didn’t send out a statement. It just sent (the information) on to the police. If it determined that this was something that would materially affect what was going on I’m sure a statement would have been sent out.”

Mr Newbold also dismissed speculation the Minnis administration is looking to exit the Oban deal in view of recent statements by Cabinet members.

After weeks of relative silence on the project, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest and Attorney General Carl Bethel both in recent days insisted the government can terminate the Heads of Agreement for the project.

Mr Bethel, speaking in the Senate Monday, said Oban Energies can “pack up and go” if it fails to mitigate the environmental concerns the government raises.

Reacting to this, Mr Newbold said: “They’re just saying because everybody has been saying, ‘how could you guys sign this, you are so dumb and stupid, what’s

wrong with you?’ And so the deputy prime minister and the attorney general are saying, ‘listen, these are the facts, this is where we are and if we have to do it this is what will happen.’

That’s about it. There’s no discussion about walking away from the deal.”

Documents Yesterday, Mr Newbold also said Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has not revealed when he will disclose the supplementary documents related to the Oban Energies Heads of Agreement which would show the specific location for the project and its boundaries, despite the Free National Movement’s (FNM) intense pre-election promise of transparency.

However, he said: “At some point it will be tabled.

Has to be tabled. The prime minister is very much aware of all the concerns. He hears what you say.

“He hears what all of us hear. He will determine when it is he wishes to make another communication on Oban.”

GRADUAL DEPLOYMENT OF US TROOPS TO MEXICO BORDER UNDERWAY

By JOHN L. MONE and PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press

ROMA, Texas (AP) — The deployment of National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border at President Donald Trump’s request was underway Tuesday with a gradual ramp-up of troops under orders to help curb illegal immigration.

The Trump administration also announced that Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will visit this week a stretch of new border wall breaking ground in New Mexico, putting additional focus on what Trump has called a crisis of migrant crossings and crime.

The construction and commitment of at least 1,600 Guard members from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas provoked fresh condemnation from immigrant activists and praise from border-state Republican governors, who will retain command-and-control of their state’s Guard during a mission that for

INTERNATIONAL NEWS now has no firm end date.

The only holdout border state was California, led by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who has not announced whether troops from his state’s National Guard will participate and has repeatedly clashed with Trump over immigration policy.

The state was still reviewing Tuesday whether it will join the effort, said Lt. Tom Keegan, a spokesman for the California National Guard.

In Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to put more than 1,000 Guard members into action, military officials said Tuesday that 300 troops would report to armories this week for preparation and training.

Texas has previously kept about 100 Guard members stationed on the border for years as part of its own border security efforts.

“What is different now it is happening in a different context

and a different narrative,” said Fernando Garcia, director of the Border Network for Human Rights, an immigrant advocacy group.

Speaking from the Rio Grande Valley where immigrant crossings are the highest along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, Garcia said, “When you hear the narrative of the president, it seems to him the enemy is the immigrant family.”

Abbott said in a statement Tuesday that the Guard has “proven to have a meaningful impact” in reducing immigration and crime.

In the Texas border town of Roma, about a half-dozen uniformed Guard members were seen Tuesday near an international bridge along the Rio Grande.

Children played just across the river in Mexico, and it wasn’t clear whether the Guard members were new or part of Texas’ earlier observe-and-report missions.

THE TRIBUNE

FOREIGN NUMBERS AT POINTE? NO IDEA FROM PAGE ONE engaged on the project.

According to the terms of the agreement signed with the $200m project’s developers under the previous Christie administration, 70 percent of the workforce is supposed to be Bahamian and at the “peak” of construction that number should be about 200 people.

However, on Friday Tribune photographers monitored who went on to the site and with the exception of three or four Bahamians and a guard at the gates of the development, everyone else appeared to be Chinese.

Previously, this newspaper observed workers on the site in both January and February and it was a similar story. Dozens of Chinese builders walked on to the site every day from a building, which lodges the workers opposite the development, and virtually no Bahamians were anywhere to be seen.

“We don’t have any evidence of that,” Mr Foulkes said when he was asked about concerns the workforce ratio was not being adhered to yesterday ahead of a Cabinet meeting. “There hasn’t been any complaints made concerning that.”

Earlier in the interview he said: “The prime minister is concerned about the ratio but it is an agreement that we met in place that the former government signed off on, 30 (percent) to 70 percent. We are uncomfortable with that ratio but we have to honour the arrangement that the previous government made.”

Asked about the concerns, Mr Symonette said while the matter is one for the Department of Labour, he was not aware of any excessive amount of work permits being issued by immigration officials to CCA or The Pointe. He said it was something officials would look into.

Mr Symonette said he did not

know how many foreign workers were on the site, explaining the current computer system does not allow officials to work out those figures.

However, he said by July, the Department of Immigration’s new system should be functional and the numbers would be readily available.

When he was contacted by this newspaper on Sunday, Mr Symonette said he was not sure whether CCA was compliant with the 70/30 ratio spelled out in the Heads of Agreement, but said he would find out.

For his part, if complaints are lodged with the Department of Labour, Director of Labour Robert Farquharson said Sunday it will “take steps to confirm that the terms of the Heads of Agreement are complied with.”

Permits

Wednesday, April 11, 2018, PAGE 7

WORKERS at The Pointe development site at the weekend. construction jobs for Bahamians.

The document also committed CCA to “make every effort to fill as many jobs as possible with Bahamian citizens.” However, it then added: “The government recognises, however, that due to the development of the proposed high-rise structures and the tight schedule to complete the development, non-Bahamian labour with special skills and expertise that are not readily available in the Bahamas will be required.”

In 2016, then Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell claimed there were too many non-Bahamian workers at the site. The Department of Labour was subsequently asked to probe the ratio of Bahamian workers to foreign workers at the Bay Street development.

The Heads of Agreement for the project, tabled in Parliament in 2017, granted China Construction America between 400-500 work permits for the $200m development.

The deal, dated June 18, 2015, stipulated Bahamians would comprise 70 percent of the total construction workforce, once those employed by local sub-contractors were included in the calculation.

And Bahamian sub-contractors were supposed to receive “approximately 40 percent of development work…in various classifications,” although those were not listed.

However, the document stated the parties “may, through mutual agreement, vary their employment ratio if it becomes necessary for earlier completion.”

The 70 percent Bahamian labour component was thus subject to alteration, but based on the 400-500 Chinese work permits, that implied around 800-1,000

NURSES UNION ‘STILL PROCESSING’ WHETHER TO TAKE STRIKE ACTION

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Nurses Union is still “processing” whether to take strike action, BNU President Amancha Williams told The Tribune yesterday.

However, there have been no other updates regarding the dispute between the BNU and the Public Hospitals Authority.

The origin of the dispute comes from the BNU threatening industrial action over an issue with the PHA concerning expatriate nurses on contract being asked to work 12-hour shifts.

Ms Williams previously said while that matter specifically impacts expatriate nurses, it still concerns those covered by the union.

Unionised nurses reportedly work four days and are off for four days.

Ms Williams previously noted the union fought against the shift system for its members. However, she claimed the PHA did not consult with the union concerning the new shift system for foreign nurses.

A meeting was held on

Friday between representatives from the BNU, PHA and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) President Obie Ferguson. It was chaired by Department of Labour Director Robert Farquharson.

Mr Farquharson told The Tribune on Sunday that the meeting was “very productive and positive”. He added that there is “no such strike application” before the Department of Labour from the BNU.

Solution Mr Farquharson reiterated these sentiments to reporters at a press conference on Monday. He said a solution had been found, but that he did not want to go into any specifics at the time.

He added that there would be another discussion on the matter later that day and reiterated that there is no application for a strike vote before the minister.

In a follow up yesterday, Mr Farquharson told The Tribune that a conference call did take place between

the parties.

While he refrained from discussing specifics regarding a solution, he said: “We have further developed our road mark.”

However, Ms Williams told The Tribune yesterday that she was not a part of Monday’s conference call.

When asked whether there have been any updates regarding the threatened strike action, Ms Williams said: “There’s no update. We are processing it.

“They said it has to be processed, so we are processing it.”

“We’ll call you when we’re updating it. Our meeting is on Thursday.”

Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes was also asked about the dispute on Monday. He told reporters: “I do not want to get into the details about the nurses’ union matter.

“I haven’t been totally briefed by the director as yet. There’s a process that we have when a trade dispute is filed and I generally do not get involved with that process.

“Because the appeal of that process is to me.”

MINISTER OF HEALTH SET TO ATTEND WORLD HEALTH MONTH ACTIVITIES IN FREEPORT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

IN observance of World Health Month, a number of activities have been planned in Freeport to sensitise the public about health initiatives and challenges with global implications.

The Grand Bahama Health Services World Health Committee has announced that activities this year will focus on patient education.

Health Minister Dr Duane Sands is expected to go to Grand Bahama on Thursday for the opening ceremony of an event to celebrate World Health Day at the Foster Pestaina auditorium, Pro Cathedral of Christ the King.

Dr Sands will deliver the keynote address.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had designated April 7 as World Health Day. This year’s theme is “Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere.”

The committee commenced World Health Month with a church service on Saturday, at the Freeport Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Other activities include a softball event at the Grand Bahama Sports Centre at

HEALTH Minister Dr Duane Sands.

6pm on April 20; rapid testing at the Pearce Plaza on April 21 and a blood drive on April 27 at the Rand Memorial Hospital.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, April 11, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

We play follow the leader and God forbid anyone who doesn’t play by the rules

W

HEN we talk about leadership, we usually point to government as an example. The Prime Minister is seen as the ultimate leader. There is no one with more control. No one with greater power. No one with more responsibility.

No one in a more important position. No one more unquestionable or beyond reproach. No one more silencing, domineering or undoubtedly correct. The prime minister is synonymous with leadership.

If you have managed not to rip this page to shreds, which of those statements made you uncomfortable?

In which parts did you find irony? At which point did you think I could not be serious? What does this tell you about the way you feel about leadership in The Bahamas, and the positions and people we typically view as leaders?

HOUSE of Assembly, Rawson Square.

WHO’S IN CHARGE HERE? It is interesting that we view politicians as leaders, even more than we see members of parliament as representatives. When we talk about leadership, it is often in ways that validate and celebrate dictatorial practices. One makes the decision for many. Consultation, if it exists at all, is at a minimum. The attitude is: “you put me here, so let me do my job”. This, however, only seems to work in one direction.

Members of parliament manage to say or demonstrate this to constituents, but ministers can not say this to the prime minister. It seems everyone is a leader until they have a leader, and in the presence of a

‘This is what we should expect of a leader: willingness and ability to state positions on issues.’ high-level leader, all other leaders are stripped of the title.

Those who dare to behave like leaders, rather than subjects of the highlevel leader, are scolded, belittled and threatened.

The firstborn loses all authority when the parents get home from work.

What kind of leadership are we practicing if it is threatened by anyone else - even on our team asserting themselves, offering criticism and developing solutions?

LEADERSHIP OF A DIFFERENT KIND Minister of state for legal affairs Elsworth Johnson has been one of the only a few people to dare speak on even mildly controversial issues with any degree of honesty and both personal and professional understanding and obligation. In November 2017, he spoke strongly in support of proposed changes to citizenship law. Without pressing for people to adopt his position, he implored the Bahamian people to “come up to a higher level and accept certain truths as they exist in our society.”

He encouraged respectful conversation, even if we disagree.

In March 2018, Johnson spoke to the issue of marital rape, noting people are not property.

He encouraged a consultative process, accountability and transparency. He said:

“It is accepted international standard that information maintained by the government is vital to civil society.

That information when properly dispensed to members of civil society undergirds a democracy to give life to it and it allows people to properly involve themselves in the governance of the country.”

This is what we should expect of a leader. Willingness and ability to state positions on issues. Pushing the government to make information accessible to the public and provide opportunities for engagement.

Encouraging the public to participate in the process, access information and come to informed decisions.

Johnson has demonstrated and exercised the ability to think for himself, challenge his colleagues and invite public discourse.

This flies in the face of the unspoken mandate of Bahamian ministers and members of parliament who are to tow the party line. The only opinion is the party’s opinion, the only challenge is to the Opposition, and the only reason to engage the citizenry is for votes.

Compare Johnson’s leadership with that of the “leaders” who refuse to take positions on hot button issues, sit small until their names are called, shy away from any forum giving citizens the opportunity to address them. Which do you prefer and which is most expedient for the head leader in charge?

Last week, Johnson went too far out of bounds. He dared to call for a chief justice to be appointed. Following the Bahamas Bar Association’s characterisation of no appointed chief justice as an “existential and constitutional crisis”, the former president of the Association spoke up. He said: “the right, transparent and accountable thing to do is for the PM to exercise his constitutional authority and appoint a chief justice”.

IF A MINISTER DISAGREES AND NO ONE HEARS IT, DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? This is not disrespect.

This is not unreasonable.

This is a thought-out and explained position. Johnson said, rightly, that the vacancy should be filled.

This is obvious. Without directly referencing the current state of the office - where senior justice Stephen Isaacs now serves as acting chief justice Johnson challenged the self-loathing we all know exists in The Bahamas, and

suggested that a foreign appointee would be properly compensated. Where is the lie?

Better yet, what is the problem? It is not what was said. It is where it was said, and who could hear it.

This must have made Prime Minister Hubert Minnis uncomfortable.

Making this appointment was not on his agenda. He is busy balancing people’sperson and man-in-charge.

It is not easy.

How can you be seen as a nice guy, but also have the respect of the people - especially those you consider to be beneath you? Having already called for a resignation and fired someone else very recently, we can only imagine the action taken to elicit the apology Johnson issued last week.

An apology for stating publicly what some say should have been a private conversation. A private conversation about a public matter.

We have grown so accustomed to being in the dark, to electing people and walking away, to being told our business is none of our business that anyone who attempts to involve us in the conversation is seen as out of order. We forget that they are employed by us.

We, the people.

WHO WILL LEAD NEXT? We have had a leadership crisis for some time now,

and it continues. There are many new faces in the current administration, but has there been any real change?

Can there be any substantive change within the same system that recycles not only people, but form and function?

The Bahamas is being governed using the same tactics we look back on and criticise, believing ourselves much evolved since the ‘70s. The play is the same. Same script, different cast. The actors of today learned from those of yesterday. They study and follow the notes left behind.

They have bought into the same values, and have the same single-mindedness we rebuke and swear off with every election season. They are worn down. They join the cult.

Look at the ages of the people in positions of leadership, then look at the ages of the people in tomorrow’s obituary.

Look at the ages of the people locked out of the system or, when let in, are either silenced or brainwashed.

The leadership crisis continues. The crisis of representation continues.

We know public life is not easy, but do not often acknowledge that it is without reward for those determined to participate differently. Those who do not follow script. Those who speak out of turn.

Those who do not bind themselves to convention or tradition, and do not feel indebted to the people or systems that brought them in to the point that they must become puppets.

We need to concern ourselves with the development of a new generation of leaders. In 20 years, who do we want to be at the helm, and how will we prepare them?

Watching Bahamian governance and listening to commentary would not encourage many people to be different. To speak up. To object. To demand better. To use positions of power to create change.

We make leadership about popularity and longevity; not authenticity in the process of visioning, charting a path and equipping people for the journey.

Until we redefine it, it will be practiced in the same way, and we deserve to see change in more than time and faces.

TOP PRIZE WINNERS IN EASTER CONTEST LICKETY Split Ice Cream & Deli’s 17th annual Easter colouring contest wrapped up with over 160 entries, topping recent years.

Judges reviewed submissions from four to nine-years-olds, submitted at Lickety Split locations across the island leading up to Easter. Entries were separated into two age categories. Three winners were selected for each category.

In the four to sixyear-old category, six-year-old Summer Ingraham, a Temple Christian student, won the 1st place prize, a bicycle from Cycles Unlimited.

Six-year-old Amaya Stubbs was the 2nd place winner. Amaya, a student of St Thomas More, won a jumbo Easter Basket.

Sarai Rolle, from St Francis De Sales School in Abaco, was the 3rd place winner and received three gallons of ice cream.

In the seven to nine-yearold category, eight-year-old Bernise Ulysse won the 1st place prize. Bernise, an Eva Hilton Primary School student, received a bike from Cycles Unlimited. The 2nd place prize, a jumbo Easter basket, was presented to eight-year-old Addison Bethell from Queen’s College.

Seven-year-old Kingsway Academy student, Chloe Fox, was the 3rd place winner and was presented with three gallons of ice cream.

SUMMER INGRAHAM

AMAYA STUBBS

BERNISE ULYSSE

CHLOE FOX

ADDISON BETHELL

SARAI ROLLE

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 11, 2018, PAGE 9

Students prep for global robotics competition DETROIT Associated Press A UNIVERSITY of Michigan initiative has helped more than 2,800 Detroit high school students build robotics, train for competitions and expand their science, technology, engineering and math education.

Students will be able to put their practice to the test as Detroit gears up to host the FIRST Championship, a global robotics competition.

About 90 of the 400 teams from around the world competing from April 25 29 are from Michigan, the Detroit News reported.

Student teams will battle robots on a playing field.

It’s the first time the event is being held in the state.

The university’s Michigan Engineering Zone is offering teams workstations, equipment, storage and a cadre of mentors, including professional engineers and graduate students. Teams visit MEZ to modify or troubleshoot for upcoming competitions.

Many Detroit high schools don’t have the tools, resources or staff to support a robotics team.

MEZ gives high school students a hands-on learning environment to practice

CALVIN HARVEY III, from Henry Ford high school, works on his team’s robot inside the University of Michigan’s “Michigan Engineering Zone” inside the school’s Detroit centre.

KESHAWN HOLTON, above left, and Tianna Carr, of Pershing high school, work on their team’s robot inside the University of Michigan’s “Michigan Engineering Zone”.

ZANNATUN ALIM, left, and Mahia Hossain, students at the Detroit International Academy for Young Women, work on their team’s robot inside the University of Michigan’s “Michigan Engineering Zone” inside the school’s Detroit centre. real job skills, such as problem-solving and critical thinking, said Nikolai Vitti, Detroit’s public school district superintendent.

“This is a something we will look to expand by including more schools and students,” Vitti said.

MEZ also offers students assistance on college applications, as well as financial aid.

Some even end up attending

thea university, including 23-year-old Jacob Durrah.

Durrah started attending MEZ as a sophomore. Now, he works at Ford Motor Co. “That exposure and constant encouragement and seeing the results of what you can do if you put your mind to it,” he said. “I can definitely say that is the reason I am here working for Ford today.”

The new Galaxy S9 is here Samsung’s Galaxy S9 is now available in The Bahamas. Following its launch here on Monday, this is Samsung’s list of the most exciting new features consumers can expect.

dual optical image stabilisation (OIS) to ensure that photos are crystal clear even when the user has a shaky hand.

7. Stereo Speakers Provide Premium Sound Samsung has complemented the Galaxy S9’s immersive infinity display with an equally engrossing sound system.

1. A Streamlined Design Both the 5.8-inch Galaxy S9 and the 6.2-inch S9+ introduce refinements to the infinity display that make Samsung’s signature screen even more striking.

8. Enhanced Biometric Authentication The Galaxy S9’s intelligent scan feature combines the collective strength of Samsung’s iris scanning, facial recognition and intelligent technologies to create a seamless authentication solution that offers users secure access to their device in virtually any environment.

2. Make Everyday Moments Epic The Galaxy S9’s super slow-mo feature was designed to allow users to capture, in stunning detail, the epic, blink-and-you’llmiss-it moments that occur in everyday life.

3. A Low Light Camera That Imitates the Eye Combining an F2.4 aperture lens with an F1.5 – the brightest currently available on a smartphone, according to Samsung – the Galaxy S9’s advanced dual aperture camera adapts to its environment to allow users to snap stunning shots in any light.

4. Express Yourself with AR Emoji The Galaxy S9’s new AR Emoji feature allows users

to create their own realistic or cartoon-like emojis using the device‘s facial recognition technology. From a single selfie, the device analyses a 2D image of you by mapping more than 100 distinct facial features, and then applies that image to a 3D model to generate an avatar that looks just like you and can imitate your

facial expressions.

5. Instant Insight into Your Surroundings Samsung’s intelligence platform, Bixby, is deeply integrated into the Galaxy S9’s camera, and utilises augmented reality and deep learning technologies to provide users with a wide range of helpful, real-time

information about world around them.

the

6. Snap Standout Shots with Dual Camera The Galaxy S9+’s best-inclass dual camera features a pair of 12MP cameras – an F1.5 wide-angle lens with super speed dual pixel image sensor, and an F2.4 telephoto lens – as well as

9. Built for Mobile Lifestyles In addition to allowing users to enjoy a full-screen desktop experience powered by their mobile device, the Samsung DeX software platform now allows users to transform their Galaxy S9’s infinity display into a touch keyboard and touch pad using the new DeX Pad.

• Scientists in Antarctica have harvested their first crop of vegetables grown without earth, daylight or pesticides as part of a project designed to help astronauts cultivate fresh food on other planets.

Researchers at Germany’s Neumayer Station III say they’ve picked eight pounds of salad greens, 18 cucumbers and 70 radishes grown inside a high-tech greenhouse as temperatures outside dropped below -4 Fahrenheit.

The German Aerospace Center DLR, which coordinates the project, said on Thursday that by May scientists hope to harvest 4-5 kilogrammes of fruit and vegetables a week.

While NASA has successfully grown greens on the International Space Station, DLR’s Daniel Schubert says the Antarctic project aims to produce a wider range of vegetables that might one day be grown on Mars or the Moon.

• Would you take a trip if you couldn’t use your cellphone?

A new tour company called Off the Grid is asking travelers to put their cellphones away and not even use them for photos.

“When you’re somewhere new, there’s a lot to soak up, a lot to see, a lot of cool, interesting people to meet. Your phone can distract you,” said Off the Grid founder Zach Beattie.

Off the Grid trips, he says, are designed to be “fully unplugged and very social.”

The first trip is to Lisbon, Portugal, in July, with others planned to Prague; the Croatian coast; Barcelona, Spain; Lima, Peru; and Tulum, Mexico.

“People have signed up for every trip we’ve launched so far,” Beattie said.

Tours are seven to 10 days, with small groups of up to 16 people. Prices range from $1,500 to $1,650, including accommodations in hostels, some meals and ground transportation (but not airfare). Itineraries include at least three excursions and two social events, with an emphasis on unique experiences over bucket-list sightseeing. The Lisbon tour includes surfing lessons, yoga on the beach, a day of sailing and dinner with a family to learn about local cuisine and wines.

“We are under-scheduling,” Beattie said. “The entire focus of the trip is mindful travel and not cramming every single site into your trip.”

The phone ban won’t be enforced quite as strictly as it seems at first glance. “We want it to be volunteer,” he said. “We’re not collecting phones and throwing them in a locked trunk. It’s held by you, but put in a pouch, and you state your intentions for the week,” whether that’s checking your social media once or twice a day or a total blackout.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, April 11, 2018

CHEMICAL WEAPONS EXPERTS TO INSPECT ATTACK SITE IN SYRIA BEIRUT Associated Press THE international chemical weapons watchdog said Tuesday it was sending a fact-finding mission to the Syrian town where a suspected chemical gas attack took place over the weekend, following a request from the Syrian government and its Russian backers that appeared to be aimed at averting punitive Western military action.

It was not immediately clear whether the announcement would delay or prevent a US strike in Syria. President Donald Trump has vowed to respond “forcefully” to Saturday’s attack on civilians in the town of Douma, and warned that Russia — or any other nation found to share responsibility — will “pay a price”.

In a statement, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said a fact-finding mission was “preparing to deploy to Syria shortly”, though it did not give a more precise timetable on when the inspectors would arrive.

Trump on Tuesday cancelled plans to travel to South America later this week, choosing to stay in the United States to manage the response to the events in Syria. The White House said he later spoke with British Prime Minister Theresa May and the two “agreed not to allow the use of chemical weapons to continue”.

Trump also discussed Syria with French President Emanuel Macron, who said Tuesday that France would decide in the coming days on “a strong and joint response” with the US and Britain to the suspected attack.

The incident has sparked international outrage and ratcheted up tensions in the already volatile Mideast, raising the specter of possible imminent American retaliation amid Russia’s warnings against any such action, and denials that any chemical weapons attack took place.

Adding to the tensions, Iran, a strong ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, threatened to respond to an airstrike on a Syrian military base on Monday that the Syrian government, Russia and Iran blamed on Israel.

Seven Iranians were among the estimated 14 people killed in the missile strike, and a senior Iranian official visiting Damascus said the attack “will not remain unanswered”. Ali Akbar Velayati, an aide to Iran’s supreme leader, spoke upon arrival in the Syrian capital on Tuesday.

The Syrian air base was struck by missiles a little more than 24 hours after the alleged chemical attack.

Israel does not typically comment on its operations in Syria, and it is unclear whether the missile attack was linked to the alleged use of chemical weapons.

Iran is one of Assad’s strongest backers and has sent thousands of troops and allied militiamen to support his forces.

Syrian government forces were on high alert and taking precautionary measures on Tuesday at military positions across the country amid fears of a US strike in the aftermath of the attack near Damascus.

At the United Nations, meanwhile, Russia vetoed a US-drafted UN resolution that would have condemned the suspected gas attack and established a new body to determine responsibility for Syrian chemical weapons attacks. The vote on Tuesday in the 15-member Security Council was 12 in favour, with Bolivia joining Russia in voting “no”, and China abstaining.

Chemical weapons attacks have killed hundreds of people since the start of Syria’s conflict.

THE TRIBUNE

Trump believes he can fire Mueller, White House says WASHINGTON Associated Press

THE federal agents who raided the office of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, were looking for records about payments to a former Playboy playmate and to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who both claim to have had affairs with Trump.

That’s according to a report on Tuesday from The New York Times. The newspaper, citing several people briefed on the investigation, reported that FBI agents were looking for records of payments to exPlaymate Karen McDougal and also information related to the publisher of The National Enquirer.

The raid prompted a new blast on Tuesday from the president, who tweeted that “Attorney-client privilege is dead!” And White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the president thinks he can fire special counsel Robert Mueller, but isn’t taking that step now.

McDougal has said she carried on an affair with Trump in 2006 after the birth of his son. The Enquirer’s publisher, American Media Inc, paid McDougal $150,000 but never published her story. AMI has said she was paid to become a fitness columnist.

The Associated Press has confirmed that agents on Monday also seised records related to a $130,000 payment made to Daniels, who says she had sex with Trump in 2006.

A furious Trump, who in the past month has escalated his attacks on Mueller’s Russia investigation, said on Monday from the White House that it was a “disgrace” that the FBI “broke into” his lawyer’s office. He called Mueller’s investigation “an attack on our country”, prompting new speculation that he might seek the removal of the Justice Department’s special counsel.

On Tuesday, Sanders said Trump believes the raid on Cohen’s office went “too

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, right, sitting next to Vice President Mike Pence, speaks in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, April 9, 2018, at the start of a meeting with military leaders.

Photo: Susan Walsh/AP far”, but she also said that it’s a separate investigation from Mueller’s probe. Still, Trump “certainly believes that he has the power” to directly fire Mueller, she said, and he has been advised that he has that authority. She did not say where the advice came from.

Justice Department guidelines say only deputy attorney Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller last May, has the authority to fire him and only for specific cause. Rosenstein has repeatedly said that he has not seen any reason to dismiss Mueller.

The raid was overseen by the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan and was based in part on a referral from Mueller, said Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan.

“The decision by the US Attorney’s Office in New York to conduct their investigation using search warrants is completely inappropriate and unnecessary,” Ryan said in a statement.

“It resulted in the unnecessary seisure of protected attorney client communications between a lawyer and his clients.”

The raid creates a new legal headache for Trump as he and his attorneys weigh whether to agree to

an interview with Mueller’s team, which in addition to investigating potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign is also examining whether the president’s actions constitute obstruction of justice.

And the law enforcement action will almost certainly amplify the public scrutiny on the payment to Daniels, who says she had sex with Trump in 2006. The payment was made just days before the 2016 presidential election. Trump told reporters last week that he did not know about it.

Search warrants are a fairly standard, though aggressive, law enforcement tool and are often sought in cases where authorities are concerned someone may hide or withhold evidence.

To obtain one, agents must convince a judge they have probable cause of criminal activity and they believe they’ll find evidence of wrongdoing in a search.

A warrant requires highlevel approval within the Justice Department, and agency guidelines impose additional hurdles when the search target is an attorney.

In this case, Mueller opted to refer the matter to federal prosecutors in Manhattan. Besides Cohen’s office, agents also searched

a hotel room where he’s been staying while his home is under renovation.

Under Justice Department regulations, Mueller must consult with Rosenstein when his investigators uncover new evidence that may fall outside his original mandate. Rosenstein then will determine whether to allow Mueller to proceed or to assign the matter to another US attorney or another part of the Justice Department.

A spokesman for Mueller’s office did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The US attorney’s office had no comment. Monday’s raid was first reported by The New York Times.

Ryan did not elaborate on the documents taken from Cohen’s office but said he has co-operated with investigators, including meeting last fall with lawmakers looking into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Cohen has more recently attracted attention for his acknowledgment that he paid Daniels out of his own pocket shortly before the 2016 presidential election.

Cohen has said neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction

with Daniels and he was not reimbursed for the payment.

Several former officials at the Federal Election Commission have said the payment appears to be a violation of campaign finance laws, and multiple Washington-based groups have filed complaints with the FEC, urging it to investigate.

There have been few signs that Mueller was interested in investigating the payment, though. One Mueller witness, former Trump aide Sam Nunberg, recently connected the special counsel with the payment, saying in an interview on MSNBC last month that prosecutors had asked him about payments to women.

Trump answered questions about Daniels for the first time last week, saying he had no knowledge of the payment made by Cohen and he didn’t know where Cohen had gotten the money. The White House has consistently said Trump denies the affair.

Daniels has said she had sex with the president in 2006. She has been suing to invalidate the nondisclosure agreement she signed before the election and has offered to return the money she was paid in order to “set the record straight”.

Daniels argues the agreement is legally invalid because it was signed by only Daniels and Cohen, and was not signed by Trump.

Last month, Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, sent letters to the Trump Organization demanding the business preserve all of its records relating to the $130,000 transaction.

The letter demanded they preserve all emails by Cohen that mention Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, as well as any emails and text messages related to the alleged relationship. He sent similar demand letters to two banks, City National and First Republic, asking they preserve documents connected to the transaction.

Zuckerberg says company working with Mueller probe WASHINGTON Associated Press APOLOGETIC Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told senators on Tuesday it had been “clearly a mistake” to believe the Trump-linked data-mining company Cambridge Analytica had discarded data that it had harvested from social media users in an attempt to sway 2016 elections.

Zuckerberg told members of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees that Facebook considered the data collection “a closed case” because it thought the information had been deleted. Facebook didn’t alert the Federal Trade Commission, Zuckerberg said, and he assured senators the company would handle the situation differently today.

On another issue currently in the news, he was asked whether his company had been contacted by the office of the special counsel, Robert Mueller, who is looking into Russian interference in the election.

“Yes,” he said, “I know that we are working with them.” He provided no other details, saying he wanted to be careful not to break any rules of confidentiality.

Earlier this year Mueller charged 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies in a plot to interfere in the presidential election through a social media propaganda effort that included online ad purchases using US aliases and politicking on US soil.

Some of the Russian ads were on Facebook.

Zuckerberg began a

FACEBOOK CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives to testify before a joint hearing of the Commerce and Judiciary Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington about the use of Facebook data to target American voters in the 2016 election.

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP two-day congressional inquisition with a public apology for the privacy scandal that has shaken the social media giant he founded more than a decade ago. He took responsibility for failing to prevent Cambridge Analytica, a firm affiliated with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, from gathering personal information from 87 million users to try to influence elections.

Zuckerberg had apologized many times already, to users and the public, but this was the first time in his career that he had gone before Congress. He also is to testify on Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Sen John Thune, R-SD, the Commerce Committee chairman, told Zuckerberg his company has a 14-year history of apologising for “ill-advised decisions” related to user privacy.

“How is today’s apology different?” Thune asked.

LIFE-sized cutouts depicting Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wearing “Fix Fakebook” T-shirts are displayed by advocacy group, Avaaz, on the South East Lawn of the Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP “We have made a lot of mistakes in running the company,” Zuckerberg responded. “I think it’s pretty much impossible, I believe, to start a company in your dorm room and then grow it to be at the scale that we’re at now without making some mistakes.”

Zuckerberg said Facebook is going through “a broader philosophical shift in how we approach our responsibility as a company”. He said the company needs to take a

“more proactive role” that includes ensuring the tools it creates are used in “good and healthy” ways.

In the hearings, Zuckerberg is not only trying to restore public trust in his company but also to stave off federal regulations that some lawmakers have floated. In his opening statement, he also apologised for his company’s involvement in facilitating fake news and Russian interference in the elections.

“We didn’t take a broad

enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake,” he said. “It was my mistake, and I’m sorry.

I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here.”

Separately, the company also began alerting some of its users that their data was gathered by Cambridge Analytica. A notification that appeared on Facebook for some users on Tuesday told them that “one of your friends” used Facebook to log into a now-banned personality quiz app called “This Is Your Digital Life.”

The notice says the app misused the information, including public profiles, page likes, birthdays and current cities, by sharing it with Cambridge Analytica.

After resisting previous calls to testify, Zuckerberg agreed to come to Capitol Hill this month after reports surfaced — and the company confirmed — that Cambridge Analytica had gathered Facebook users’ data. Zuckerberg said his company has a responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

His opening statement did not reveal new information about how data was shared or what Facebook will do. In addition to saying he is sorry, Zuckerberg outlined the steps the company has taken to restrict outsiders’ access to people’s personal information. He also said the company is investigating every app that had access to a large amount of information before the company moved to prevent such access in 2014 — actions that came too late in the Cambridge Analytica case.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, April 11, 2018, PAGE 11

MINISTRY OF HOUSING TO SELL LOW-COST LOTS

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Housing is ready to sell low-cost lots, Press Secretary Anthony Newbold said yesterday.

Selling the lots would help fulfil Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ promise made during a national address earlier this year to help Bahamians afford homes.

The cost of the lots has not been confirmed, but Mr Newbold said the

Potential homeowners will have two years to build homes at duty free rates

likely formula to determine the cost will be the combination of the cost of installing all necessary infrastructure for electricity, water and telephone services divided by the total number of lots made available.

“This will probably be in all likelihood the formula they use to determine

what those lots will cost,” he said.

Mr Newbold added: “The Ministry of Housing has got in hand now title documents that would allow them to begin selling service lots. The ministry is getting out of the business of building houses so they actually have title documents in

hand to allow them to begin selling service lots in Sunset Close Subdivision, that is the area behind the Carmichael Road Police Station. There will be an additional ten service lots at what would be the Lionel Davis Subdivision in Fox Hill.

“They have preliminary drawings, they’re looking at the engineering drawing now for what would be the Carmichael Village Subdivision; that is also off Carmichael Road adjacent to Dignity Gardens.

There will be 300 lots in

that subdivision and the engineering drawings as opposed to just regular preliminary drawings will allow them to determine where the infrastructure is going to go.”

Under the programme, homeowners will be responsible for constructing their own homes and will be able to use either their own architectural designs or pre-existing plans offered by the government.

Potential homeowners will have two years to build their homes at

duty-free concessionary rates.

“Because the lots will be inexpensive, we expect scores of first-time homeowners to take advantage of this programme,” Dr Minnis said during his national address in January.

“Access to affordable housing is critical for social and economic development. We look forward to many Bahamians taking advantage of this significant opportunity for home ownership,” he added.

BENCH VS THE BAR LAWERS and Supreme Court and Court of Appeal Justices took to a court of a different kind on Monday for the Bench vs the Bar tennis event.

PAGE 12, Wednesday, April 11, 2018

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RED CROSS FAIR

THE 76TH Annual Bahamas Red Cross Fair was held at Government House on Saturday with food, games and high-flying fun for those in attendance.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune staff